Cryptocurrency custody firm Fireblocks has announced a partnership with Coinbase International Exchange, the Nasdaq-listed trading platform’s non-U.S arm offering spot and perpetual futures trading in eligible jurisdictions.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reviewing an application for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) from asset manager ProShares, just three weeks after the regulator approved eight similar products.

HSBC Bank's Chinese subsidiary has started offering e-CNY services to corporate clients, granting businesses access to China’s central bank digital currency, the digital yuan or e-CNY, in a first for a foreign bank in the country.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Fireblocks Partners with Coinbase International to Enhance Crypto Security for Global Traders
• SEC Considers New ProShares Spot Ether ETF Application
• HSBC Becomes First Foreign Bank to Offer China's Digital Yuan to Businesses
• ETH Options Volume on CME Reaches New All-Time High

Fireblocks Partners with Coinbase International to Enhance Crypto Security for Global Traders

Cryptocurrency custody firm Fireblocks has announced a partnership with Coinbase International Exchange, the Nasdaq-listed trading platform’s non-U.S arm offering spot and perpetual futures trading in eligible jurisdictions.

The collaboration allows Fireblocks customers to connect their Coinbase International accounts and leverage Fireblocks' governance and policy protocols to safeguard exchange operations, including deposits and withdrawals.

This integration comes as Coinbase International, which secured a regulatory license from Bermuda in May 2023, expands its offerings beyond its initial focus as a derivatives exchange for institutions.

Fireblocks uses Multi-Party Computation (MPC), a cryptographic key-sharing technology, to eliminate a single point of vulnerability associated with API credentials, combined with secure hardware enclaves to offer further protection against potential threats and insider collusion attempts.

Through Fireblocks' policy engine, customers can establish user roles, define governance protocols, and set up approval workflows for exchange deposits and withdrawals. Customers may also deposit, withdraw, and rebalance assets through the Fireblocks Console or API.

SEC Considers New ProShares Spot Ether ETF Application

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reviewing an application for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) from asset manager ProShares, just three weeks after the regulator approved eight similar products.

According to a recent filing, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca has proposed a rule change to list and trade shares of the ProShares Ethereum ETF. The SEC is now seeking public comment on the application for 21 days following its publication in the Federal Register. The regulator has 45 days to approve, disapprove, or extend the decision timeline for the fund.

The filing comes after the SEC approved 19b-4 filings from eight other spot Ether ETFs on May 23 for the first time, with a final approval for these ETFs’ S-1 registration statements being necessary before they officially start trading.

While the process can take months, some experts have revealed they expected Ether ETFs to launch sometime in July.

ProShares was among the first asset managers to receive SEC approval for a Bitcoin futures ETF, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which was listed on NYSE Arca in October 2023.

HSBC Becomes First Foreign Bank to Offer China's Digital Yuan to Businesses

HSBC Bank's Chinese subsidiary has started offering e-CNY services to corporate clients, granting businesses access to China’s central bank digital currency, the digital yuan or e-CNY, in a first for a foreign bank in the country.

The digital yuan is a digital version of the country’s fiat currency, the yuan (CNY), and is designed to partially replace physical cash in circulation. In a statement HSBC Bank (China) announced that corporate clients can now link their accounts to e-CNY wallets for asset management purposes.

The bank has already facilitated e-CNY payments for an education group across six of its branches in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Jiaxing, and Suzhou. The People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank, launched pilot programs for the digital currency in late 2019, gradually expanding them to encompass various regions throughout the country.

While the government has  begun paying state employees in e-CNY within select cities, various users remain reluctant to pay with e-CNY over functional limitations and privacy concerns. In a bid to bolster e-CNY usage, Hong Kong recently announced that residents could establish personal e-CNY wallets for cross-border transactions.

ETH Options Volume on CME Reaches New All-Time High

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), has seen its crypto derivatives trading volume dip 7.42% to $115 billion in May, marking a second consecutive monthly decline.

Bitcoin futures trading bore the brunt of the decline, falling 14% to $86.8 billion while Ethereum futures defied the trend, surging 37.5% to $20.5 billion, marking the highest monthly volume since November 2021. The rise was accompanied by a staggering 115% jump in ETH options trading volume to $931 million, a new record for the exchange.

CME's market share among derivatives markets edged up 0.4% to 3.11%, the highest level since 2021 amid a rise in Ethereum trading activity attributed to growing institutional interest in ETH over the SEC’s sudden approval of spot Ethereum ETF applications in the US.

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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