Canada approved 2 Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last week, propelling cryptocurrency optimism higher. Purpose Investments and CI Global Asset Management both received approval from Canada to launch a new ETF that offers exposure to physically settled Ether. Purpose plans to debut and manage the Purpose Ether ETF, and Ether Capital Corporation will consult. The ETH will be secured in cold storage with Gemini acting as sub-custodian and CIBC Mellon Global Securities acting as fund administrator. CI Global Asset management will launch the CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF on April 20 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, subject to its approval. CI GAM is the manager of the ETF, and Galaxy Digital Asset Management serves as the sub-advisor, with the ETF assessing a 0.4% management fee. The ETFs will be available in Canadian and US dollars.
The historic approvals of the first ever Ether ETFs came 2 months after Canada approved the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, while U.S. regulators are still reviewing multiple Bitcoin (BTC) ETF applications.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
Turkey on Friday began to ban the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets for purchases, as well as transferring money via fintech platforms to crypto exchanges, citing possible "irreparable" damage and transaction risks. The country's central bank said coin and other digital assets based on distributed ledger technology may not be used to pay for goods and services directly or indirectly. The central bank argued that crypto assets are "neither subject to any regulation and supervision mechanisms nor a central regulatory authority." It also warned that the use of crypto payments can cause permanent losses for the users and undermine confidence in payment methods. The prohibition came days after auto distributor Royal Motors became the first Turkish firm to accept crypto payments. But Turkey's main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu slammed the ban as "midnight bullying" and "foolishness." The change officially goes into effect April 30.
Dapper Labs is reportedly raising even more funds at a higher valuation of over $7.5 billion, only a few weeks after raising money at a reported $2.6 billion valuation, according to The Information. The unicorn startup behind the popular digital collectibles platform NBA Top Shot, which features trading of officially-licensed video highlights from NBA basketball games, is raising extra capital as it tries to capitalize on the rapid eye-popping growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), collectibles that can feature art, video, music, and more. Citing a person with direct knowledge of the fundraising discussions, the report says the new round is being led by Coatue Management, which led the previous round. Coatue is headed by billionaire investor Philippe Laffont. Founded just 2 years ago, Dapper's value is exploding along with the huge blockchain boom. Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent venture capital backer of hot companies like Coinbase
Crypto prices slipped to $1.99 trillion this week in a correction. For the majors, Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) posted gains, while the rest posted losses. In the top 100, the biggest losers were DENT, down 30%, Bitcoin Gold (BTG), down 27%, and NEAR Protocol (NEAR), down 26%. The biggest gainers were DOGE, up a whopping 324%, NANO, up 109%, and Ethereum Classic (ETC), up 77%. Next week traders will watch if the correction continues.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.