Financial services and banking giant State Street is exploring ways to leverage blockchain technology for faster and cheaper payment settlements, which could involve creating a stablecoin.

Asset managers vying to launch spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) submitted their final filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of a potential launch next week.

Crypto fund issuer Valour has launched the world's first exchange-traded product (ETP) for Near Protocol's NEAR token, which is set to trade on Sweden’s Spotlight Stock Market and allow retail and institutional investors to gain exposure to the token.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• State Street Eyes Own Stablecoin
• Major Asset Managers Final S1-Forms for Their Spot Ether ETFs
• Valour Launches First Exchange-Traded Product for Near Protocol Token
• Crypto Trading Volumes Fall for Third Consecutive Month

State Street Eyes Own Stablecoin

Financial services and banking giant State Street is exploring ways to leverage blockchain technology for faster and cheaper payment settlements, which could involve creating a stablecoin.

According to a source familiar with the plans, the Boston-based firm, which recently reported higher-than-expected revenue, is also considering its own blockchain-based representation of customer deposits through a deposit token.

Furthermore, the firm is looking at joining digital-cash consortium efforts and could launch settlement options through its investment in blockchain payment startup Fnality.

Earlier this year, State Street integrated its digital assets team into the core business, aiming for closer coordination between traditional finance and the burgeoning crypto space. As the world's third-largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) manager, the firm already provides services like administration and accounting for crypto ETFs.

It recently partnered with Galaxy Asset Management to develop digital asset ETFs and has said it’s focusing on tokenizing assets such as funds.

Major Asset Managers File Final S1-Forms for Their Spot Ether ETFs

Asset managers vying to launch spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) submitted their final filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of a potential launch next week.

BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares, Grayscale, Bitwise and Invesco Galaxy all filed amended S-1 registration statements with the SEC, with the filings coming after months of anticipation and regulatory scrutiny.

The SEC had previously approved 19b-4 forms from NYSE Arca, Cboe, and Nasdaq for various spot Ether ETF applications in May, clearing a key hurdle and indicating it would ultimately approve these funds for trading.

The recent S-1 filings reveal final details of the fund structures including their management fees, which ultimately led to a fee war after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year that saw various issuers temporarily waive fees.

Grayscale stands out with a 2.5% fee on its main product, significantly higher than its competitors, while its Mini Ethereum Trust is set to have a 0.25% fee, the same fee BlackRock and Fidelity will charge on their spot Ether ETFs, but above the 0.21% 21Shares will charge. Bitwise, VanEck, and Invesco Galaxy set their fees at 0.2%, will Franklen Templeton set it at 0.19%.

Valour Launches First Exchange-Traded Product for Near Protocol Token

Crypto fund issuer Valour has launched the world's first exchange-traded product (ETP) for Near Protocol's NEAR token, which is set to trade on Sweden’s Spotlight Stock Market and allow retail and institutional investors to gain exposure to the token.

Near Protocol, with a current market capitalization of roughly $6.8 billion is a technology stack designed to eliminate various hurdles inherent to blockchain development and underpins various Web3 projects, including Burrow, a decentralized money market protocol, and Mintbase, non-fungible token (NFT) platform.

The NEAR ETP complements Valour's existing suite of alternative digital asset ETPs, which includes one of the largest Solana ETPs and products for major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Internet Computer.

Valour’s parent company, DeFi Technologies, manages roughly $600 million in assets across various products.

Crypto Trading Volumes Fall for Third Consecutive Month

The combined volumes of spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges has declined for its third consecutive month in June amid a trend that started on March 24 after digital asset trading volumes hit a new all-time high of $9.05 trillion.

Last month the combined trading volume fell 21.8% to $4.22 trillion as major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum remained largely rangebound. Spot trading volume fell 19.3% to $1.33 trillion, while derivatives volumes dropped 22.8% to $2.89 trillion.

Dig deeper into the world of cryptocurrency trading with CCData’s latest Exchange Review report.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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