The Friday Focus: Issue 34

May 20, 2022

Welcome to our Friday newsletter. Here you find the most exciting crypto content from the previous week - curated for you by us.

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Weekly happenings

We continue seeing extreme expansion efforts from the crypto exchanges. FTX US launched stock trading just two weeks after its owner Sam Bankman-Fried bought a stake in stock trading platform Robinhood. Meanwhile, Binance keeps expanding around the globe, now attempting to get regulatory approval in Germany shortly after securing its license in France.

While FTX and Binance are expanding like never before, Coinbase has met headwinds this year and now outlines considerable cost-cutting measures. Last week, the exchange warned that customers could lose their deposits if the company went bankrupt, attracting the wrath of US regulators.

American crypto trust provider Grayscale expands into Europe by launching its first ETF in the region, that will give investors exposure to crypto-focused companies. Meanwhile, Swiss ETP issuer 21Shares dives into the US market with two crypto index funds. Brazilian financial service providers continue their crypto efforts as stock exchange B3 plans to launch bitcoin futures.

Around one month ago, the congress of Panama approved very favorable crypto legislation, but the president is reluctant to sign it. Just around the block, in El Salvador, representatives of 44 countries' central banks and financial authorities met to discuss the new digital economy and financial inclusion, leading to intense speculation on further nation-state Bitcoin adoption.

Portugal's status as a crypto tax haven appears to be ending, as the country is likely to introduce capital gains taxes on crypto transactions.

According to new data from Cambridge, the Chinese government was unsuccessful in banning bitcoin mining, as the country still hosts around 20% of Bitcoin's hashrate.