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London Stock Exchange Group Debuts Blockchain Platform For Private Funds

by admin September 15, 2025

Update Sept. 15, 7:58 am UTC: This article has been updated to include another section on LSEG and Microsoft’s collaboration.

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) launched a blockchain-based infrastructure platform for private funds, making it the first major global stock exchange to use such a system.

The platform, called Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI), supports the full lifecycle of digital assets, from issuance and tokenization to post-trade settlement. It was developed with Microsoft and runs on Microsoft Azure, the exchange said on Monday.

LSEG said the system was designed to provide interoperability between distributed ledger technology and traditional financial systems as part of its goal to become the first global exchange group to support clients across the “full funding continuum.”

Private funds are the first asset class to go live on the DMI, with plans for additional asset classes.

As part of the initial offering, private funds on the DMI will be discoverable by Workspace’s users, enabling general partners to interact with professional investors on these platforms.

Capital management firm MembersCap and London-based Archax, a Financial Conduct Authority-regulated crypto exchange, were the first clients onboarded. MembersCap conducted the platform’s debut transaction with Archax acting as a nominee for the Cardano Foundation.

Related: RWAs: new institutional ‘trust’ layer to boost tokenized ESG investment

Microsoft, LSEG aim to unlock new opportunities for customers

Microsoft’s collaboration with LSEG on the new blockchain-based platform is a “powerful example of the innovation driving our strategic partnership,” according to Bill Borden, corporate vice president of worldwide financial services at Microsoft.

“Together, we’re reshaping the future of global finance to empower our customers to unlock new opportunities and drive meaningful change.”

Today’s private market processes are ripe for innovation. LSEG aims to improve investor access to capital markets and enhance liquidity, according to Darko Hajdukovic, head of digital markets infrastructure at LSEG.

“We intend to do this by continually working with all stakeholders to enhance efficiencies and connectivity for both digitally-native and traditional assets,” Hajdukovic said, adding that there is significant “appetite for an end-to-end, interoperable, regulated financial markets DLT infrastructure.”

Related: Trump-linked WLFI’s 40% decline causes millions in losses for crypto whales: Finance Redefined

Ultimately, the platform aims to provide more investor access to private market investment opportunities that were previously difficult to discover and participate in.

Blockchain-based incentives from traditional finance giants may accelerate the convergence of traditional and decentralized finance (DeFi), which may come sooner than most expect, according to Nelli Zaltsman, head of blockchain payments innovation at JPMorgan’s Kinexys.

“Our goal has always been to find the best way to work with the public blockchain, regulatory environment permitting,” said Zaltsman, speaking alongside Chainlink Labs co-founder Sergey Nazarov at the RWA Summit Cannes 2025.

In June, the banking giant piloted synchronized settlement technology with Chainlink, allowing JPMorgan’s blockchain-based deposits to orchestrate transactions across different blockchains.

Magazine: The one thing these 6 global crypto hubs all have in common…

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September 15, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Developer Claims Trump-Linked Crypto Project Stole Funds

by admin September 8, 2025

Crypto developer Bruno Skvorc has publicly accused World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a digital asset project with links to Donald Trump, of theft after the project froze his tokens. The accusation, made on September 6, follows a similar complaint from Tron founder Justin Sun, whose WLFI tokens were also frozen, escalating a debate over centralized control and automated compliance tools in the crypto industry.

In a series of posts on the social media platform X, Skvorc, a developer for Polygon and founder of RMRK, detailed his experience, stating bluntly, “TLDR is, they stole my money.” He is reportedly one of six investors who faced a 100% token lockup from the project’s launch. Skvorc also expressed frustration over his inability to seek recourse, writing, “And because it’s the @POTUS family, I can’t do anything about it. This is the new age mafia.”

WLFI’s compliance team justified the action in an email, which Skvorc shared publicly. The project’s rationale was that Skvorc’s wallet was flagged as “high risk” due to its career on the sector: the participation on Tornado Cash and indirect links to sanctioned entities. Skvorc criticized this reasoning, noting, “It was not ‘high risk’ to accept money from this address, but it is high risk to unlock owed money into it.”

The incident with Skvorc came just one day after Justin Sun reported that his own WLFI tokens had been frozen following a $9 million transaction. Sun described the freeze as “unreasonable” and argued the decision “went against the core values of blockchain.” The situation prompted on-chain analyst ZachXBT to criticize the reliability of such compliance systems, stating, “These tools are deeply flawed.”

The Broader Impact

The back-to-back freezes by WLFI highlight a growing friction point within the digital asset space concerning automated compliance protocols. The actions led to critics such as : ‘tool overly aggressive’, flagging wallets for indirect associations that may be several transactions removed from any illicit activity. It brings up important issues about due process and the way project teams control user assets from one place.

This dispute underscores the fundamental tension between the DeFi’s ethos and regulatory pres. If a project can freeze user funds on its own based on algorithmic risk assessments, it raises important questions about who owns assets and how to fight censorship. The case is a very important reminder of how it urges to find a connection between security measures and the basic ideas behind blockchain technology.

Also Read: Justin Sun vs. WLFI: D in DeFi for Decentralization or Dictatorship?

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September 8, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Australian Retirement Funds Have ‘Missed the Rally’ in Crypto This Year

by admin September 4, 2025

In brief

Crypto balances in the country’s self-managed pension funds doubled in early 2024 before flattening around $3B by June 2025.
Listed shares, cash, and property remain the dominant allocations in SMSFs.
Such funds are “cautious by design,” Decrypt was told.

Australian self-managed retirement funds held A$3.02 billion (US$1.9 billion) in cryptocurrencies at the end of June, but fresh data suggest they largely sat out this year’s digital-asset rally.

These vehicles, known as self-managed superannuation funds, are private pension accounts that allow Australians to manage their own retirement savings instead of entrusting them to large industry or retail funds.

Together, these funds account for about a quarter of the country’s $4.3 trillion (US$2.8 trillion) superannuation pool, according to data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority last week.

Such a scale makes SMSFs a crucial component of household wealth for Australians.

However, the current crypto footprint through these funds remains small next to over A$1 trillion managed in Australia’s pension system, according to the country’s tax office report released Wednesday.

Within SMSFs, listed shares remain the largest holding at $296 billion (US$193.1 billion), followed by cash and deposits at $171billion (US$111.6 billion), property at $105 billion (US$68.5 billion), and unlisted trusts at $133 billion (US$86.7 billion).

Crypto in SMSFs surged from $1.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) in March 2024 to $3.1 billion (US$2 billion) by June that year, then held steady at the current figure of roughly $3 billion (US$1.9 billion).

Despite the increase, crypto makes up less than 0.3% of SMSF assets pegged to be over $1 trillion (US$652.5 billion), and an even smaller fraction of Australia’s $4.3 trillion (US$2.8 trillion) pension system.

The limited share reflects how SMSFs are “cautious by design,” Jeremy Kinstlinger, co-founder of Sydney-based liquidity and execution services provider Argamon Markets, told Decrypt.

“Until crypto feels mainstream and well regulated, it’ll remain a small part of retirement portfolios,” Kinstlinger said.

Asked about the slowdown, Kinstlinger said SMSFs followed crypto’s all-time highs early last year but have pared down since then.

“In early 2024, crypto surged to all-time highs and SMSFs followed the trend,” Kinstlinger explained. “But after that peak, most stepped back and haven’t re-entered, which meant they missed the rally into the second half of the year.”

The restrained take-up in SMSFs contrasts with the wider regional momentum, as Asia-Pacific crypto volumes reached $2.36 trillion (US$1.5 trillion) in the year to June, up 69% after growing 27% the previous year, according to a 2025 crypto adoption report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

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September 4, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Australians trim crypto allocations in SMSF retirement funds by 4%

by admin September 4, 2025

Australians have shaved nearly 4% off their crypto holdings in Self-Managed Super Funds over the past year.

Summary

SMSF crypto holdings in Australia fell 4% year-on-year.
Total SMSF crypto allocations remain up 40% compared to 2023.

Data published by the Australian Taxation Office on Sept. 3 reveals that the total crypto holdings across these funds, which were at A$3.119 billion in June last year, were down to A$3.018 billion in 2025.

SMSFs are private retirement funds that let members directly control how their superannuation is invested. This means they are able to allocate a portion towards assets like cryptocurrencies.

Traditionally, assets like shares, property, and term deposits are favored, but in recent years, a growing number of trustees have dipped into digital assets, lured by the promise of high returns and portfolio diversification.

Interestingly, Australians reduced their crypto exposure during a time when the global cryptocurrency sector was regaining momentum. Bitcoin climbed 60% over the same period.

Yet, when looking at the bigger picture, the number still reflects a major increment from where things stood just two years ago. Back in June 2023, total SMSF crypto holdings sat at roughly A$2.14 billion, which means current numbers are up approximately 40% over the longer run.

Part of this growth may have been influenced by changing investor dynamics, especially as young and tech-savvy Australians are beginning to reshape retirement planning on their own terms.

SMSFs have long been dominated by members over 35, with the largest share aged between 75 and 84. However, younger investor are now entering the space earlier, and they’re bringing their appetite for digital assets with them.

According to data from Independent Reserve, over half of Australians aged 25 to 34 already hold some form of crypto, making them the most engaged age group in the market.

This means that with time, cryptocurrencies may have a more natural path into long-term investment strategies, including retirement planning. As a result, the SMSF numbers could witness a drastic change over the coming years.

Coinbase, OKX, target Australia’s pension market

As previously covered on crypto.news, Australia’s A$4.3 trillion pension market has already started drawing in major global exchanges, with Coinbase and OKX rolling out services tailored for SMSF investors looking to add crypto to their retirement portfolios.

Both of the companies have noticed more than expected demand for their products. OKX, for instance, has been offering SMSF onboarding services since June and says early interest has exceeded internal projections.

Coinbase, which is yet to launch its SMSF-related services, reported having over 500 investors already on its waitlistCoinbase, which is yet to launch its SMSF-related services, reported.

And, the trend is not isolated to just Australia. Across the globe, crypto is gradually making its way into mainstream retirement planning.

The United States has allowed cryptocurrencies to be included in 401(k) retirement plans; meanwhile, in the UK, a recent survey found that 27% of adults are open to including crypto in their retirement portfolios.

Last year, a separate survey conducted in India found that 45% of locals with a retirement plan had invested in cryptocurrencies.

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September 4, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Grayscale Launches Ethereum Covered Call ETF as Money Rushes Into ETH Funds

by admin September 3, 2025

Grayscale, the world’s largest digital asset investment manager, has launched a new exchange-traded fund that ties into ether's (ETH) recent market momentum.

The Grayscale Ethereum Covered Call ETF (ETCO) began trading Thursday, offering exposure to ether with an options-writing strategy designed to generate steady income.

The launch comes as ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, has outperformed bitcoin (BTC) in 2025, rising 34% year-to-date versus BTC's 20%

Behind the gains is renewed retail and institutional interest, evidenced in August by surging inflows into the spot ETH ETFs that dwarfed those which headed into the BTC funds.

Wall Street firms have increasingly adopted the blockchain to streamline processes in their trading and settlement systems, creating a flow of capital into the asset that has lifted demand across both spot and derivative markets.

ETCO aims to capture that interest while providing a buffer against volatility. The fund systematically sells call options on Ethereum-linked exchange-traded products such as the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH). The premiums generated from those options are distributed to shareholders on a bi-weekly basis, making ETCO an “income-first” strategy that may appeal to investors seeking cash flow.

“Grayscale Ethereum Covered Call ETF is designed to complement an investor’s existing Ethereum exposure by adding an income component,” said Krista Lynch, senior vice president of ETF capital markets at Grayscale.

Covered call strategies are common in equities, where they help investors monetize volatility while potentially reducing downside risk. Grayscale is applying the same logic to crypto markets, where ether’s price swings and liquidity create opportunities for option premiums.

The fund’s primary goal is generating current income, with a secondary aim of capturing ether-linked returns. By writing call options close to the spot price, ETCO seeks to turn the token’s volatility — which often deters traditional investors — into a source of yield.

This product joins a growing line of income-focused crypto funds at Grayscale, which already includes the Bitcoin Covered Call ETF (BTCC) and the Premium Income ETF (BPI).

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September 3, 2025 0 comments

Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss at White House (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

NFT Gaming

Venus Protocol Restores Services, Recovers Stolen Funds After $27M Exploit

by admin September 3, 2025

Venus Protocol, a major lending platform on BNB Chain, said it fully restored operations after suspending withdrawals and liquidations in response to a suspected exploit on Tuesday.

The protocol confirmed on Wednesday that lost funds had been recovered and that the pause allowed security teams to complete full checks to ensure its front end was not compromised.

The incident, which stemmed from a malicious contract update that drained an estimated $27 million, prompted Venus to halt key functions while investigating.

Update: Venus Protocol has been fully restored (withdrawals and liquidations resumed) as of 9:58PM UTC. ✅

The lost funds have been recovered under Venus’ protection. ✅ https://t.co/y2uUwPqmtb

— Venus Protocol (@VenusProtocol) September 2, 2025

On-chain sleuths had initially flagged suspicious movements from the platform’s Core Pool Comptroller contract, which seemed to route user assets including vUSDC and vETH to the hacker’s wallet.

Despite the platform’s reassurance that funds are safe, Venus’ native token, XVS, remains down 2.69% over the past 24 hours, following a sell-off on Tuesday.

Venus said it will release a full post-mortem of the incident in due course while expressing its gratitude to the community for support during a “critical moment” on X.

It emphasized that the pause was “necessary not just to secure the phished funds, but to conduct full security checks.”

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September 3, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Advisors Surpass Hedge Funds as Leading Ethereum ETF Holders

by admin August 27, 2025

Ethereum ETFs are pulling heavyweight investors deeper into the market, with new data revealing a strong wave of institutional accumulation. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart reported on X that advisors and hedge funds are now leading Ethereum ETF holdings, a signal of shifting Wall Street interest.

Yesterday, we published our note on the top holders of Ethereum ETFs. Advisors are dominating the known holders and have pulled away from Hedge Funds. pic.twitter.com/qvP6ZGN3VI

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) August 27, 2025

According to the data he provided, investment advisors lead with over $1.35 billion invested in more than 539,000 ETH. They have increased their holdings by nearly 220,000 ETH, keeping their top spot in the market. Hedge funds followed with $688 million in exposure, adding 140,000 ETH. Consequently, advisors and hedge funds remain the strongest drivers of inflows.

Major Players Step In

Additionally, Bloomberg’s breakdown highlights Goldman Sachs as the largest disclosed holder with $721 million in Ethereum ETFs. The bank boosted its position by more than 160,000 ETH.

In a follow-up post, Seyffart revealed Jane Street and Millennium Management ranking next, with exposures of $190 million and $187 million. Other big firms such as Capula Management, DE Shaw, and HBK Investments also had notable stakes.

As most firms increased their exposure, a few made cuts. Schofield Strategic Advisors trimmed its holdings by over 16,000 ETH, and Van Eck Associates reduced its stack by approximately 2,700 ETH.

ETF Market Momentum Builds

Furthermore, recent data from SoSoValue indicates that inflows are holding strong. On August 26, Spot Ethereum ETFs saw $455 million in net inflows. Since their launch, cumulative inflows have reached $13.33 billion, while total assets have moved to $29.89 billion, making up 5.4% of Ethereum’s market cap.

BlackRock’s ETHA was leading with $323 million in daily inflows, which supported its assets to $16.9 billion. Following closely was Fidelity’s FETH, which attracted $85.5 million in inflows and now has $3.66 billion in assets. Grayscale ETHE on other side faces challenges, whereby it experienced $4.5 billion in outflows, despite seeing a slight daily inflow.

Demand for Ethereum ETFs from both retail and institutional investors is on the rise. Alongside continued inflows and growing holdings, it bolsters Ethereum’s standing as the largest cryptocurrency following Bitcoin.

Also Read: Investors Shift $900M Daily from Bitcoin to Ethereum: Analyst

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August 27, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital to Tokenize $300M in Hedge Funds on Avalanche

by admin August 20, 2025

SkyBridge Capital, Anthony Scaramucci’s investment management firm, plans to tokenize $300 million worth of its hedge funds on the Avalanche

network.

The firm is bringing its Digital Macro Master Fund and Legion Strategies on-chain in partnership with tokenization provider Tokeny and its parent, Apex Group, which manages more than $3.5 trillion in assets, according to the press release shared with CoinDesk on Tuesday. Apex acquired Tokeny earlier this year.

The initiative uses the ERC-3643 token standard with operational support from Apex’s Digital 3.0 platform, which handles issuance, administration, and distribution.

SkyBridge’s decision underlines the growing appeal of using blockchain rails to transfer and record ownership of traditional financial instruments like bonds, funds and stocks, a process often dubbed tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). Global banks and asset managers are exploring this technology to cut settlement times, increase transparency and keep markets open around the clock.

Securitization firm VERT Capital announced to tokenize $1 billion of debt and receivables on XDC network and debuted a tokenized credit platform on XRP Ledger, while tokenization specialist Securitize also offers tokens of various funds by Hamilton Lane, Apollo and KKR.

The tokenized RWA market has doubled over the past year, surpassing $26 billion, per RWA.xyz data, and is projected to grow into a trillion-dollar market by 2030, according to reports by McKinsey, Ripple, BCG and others.

“We look forward to bringing our hedge funds into the digital, on-chain era, improving transparency, liquidity, and accessibility for our investors, and demonstrating how traditional finance and blockchain can work together to create smarter, more efficient investment solutions,” SkyBridge Capital founder and CEO Anthony Scaramucci said in a statement.

Avalanche increasingly aims to position itself as a hub for tokenized assets. Bergen County in New Jersey uses the network to digitize property deeds of $240 billion in real estate, combating fraud and cutting processing time.

Read more: Stellar Development Foundation Invests in Archax, Aiming to Boost Tokenization

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August 20, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Bullish Raises $1.15B IPO Funds in Stablecoins

by admin August 19, 2025

Bullish (NYSE: BLSH), a global digital asset platform backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, said it has arranged to receive $1.15 billion in proceeds from its recent initial public offering in stablecoins.

The company made its market debut on August 14, 2025, in one of the most closely watched offerings of the year.

Bullish has arranged to receive $1.15 billion of proceeds from its recently completed initial public offering in stablecoins, which represents a historic step for the use of stablecoins in an initial public offering in the United States.https://t.co/hh9i22RS9I

— Bullish (@Bullish) August 19, 2025

The IPO raised more than $1 billion, with demand over 20 times greater than the number of shares available. On the first day, Bullish’s stock price jumped by 84%, showing strong excitement from investors. However, by today’s pre-market, the share price has slipped by 2.16% to $62.00, signaling some early price swings.

The company said most of the stablecoins it received were created, or “minted,” on the Solana network. Jefferies, which acted as the billing and delivery agent for the IPO, managed the minting process, including the converting and also helped deliver the stabelcoins.

The agent also worked with issues and platforms across the U.S., Europe, and Asia to complete the settlement. Bullish said the majority of proceeds were settled in USDC, along with a portion in EURC, with both sets of tokens custodied exclusively by Coinbase.

Other stablecoins that Bullish received included USD CoinVertible and EUR CoinVertible issued by Societe Generale-FORGE, Global Dollar from Paxos, PayPal USD also from Paxos, USD1 from World Liberty Financial, Agora Dollar from Agora, and EURAU from AllUnity.

Ripple’s RLUSD joins Bullish IPO settlement mix

As part of the settlement, Bullish also received Ripple USD (RLUSD), a stablecoin issued on the XRP Ledger by Ripple. In a short tweet, it congratulated the company for the “successful IPO”

“This is the first public listing to bring the settlement process onchain and sets a precedent for how stablecoins can shape future listings.” Ripple posted.

Congrats to @Bullish on a successful IPO! 👏

A portion of the IPO proceeds were settled in $RLUSD, minted on the XRP Ledger. This is the first public listing to bring the settlement process onchain and sets a precedent for how stablecoins can shape future listings. https://t.co/AD4AkpPnLD

— Ripple (@Ripple) August 19, 2025

In a statement, David Bonanno, Chief Financial Officer of Bullish, said “We view stablecoins as one of the most transformative and widespread use cases for digital assets. Internally, we leverage them for rapid and secure global fund transfers, especially on the Solana network.”

He also added that the collaboration with stablecoin issuers and their listings on Bullish Exchange showed how the firm’s infrastructure supported their businesses.

Also Read: Bullish Stock Surges 200% on Launch, Driving Investor Interest

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

SEC Punts on Trump Media Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF Decision, Plus XRP and Dogecoin Funds

by admin August 19, 2025

In brief

The SEC will decide on the Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF on October 8, likely after a rules change request from two exchanges that could shorten approval processes.
The agency delayed decisions on XRP funds from Grayscale, Bitwise, CoinShares, Canary Capital, and 21Shares.
It also pushed back deadlines on separate Dogecoin and Litecoin ETFs, and a proposal to add staking to an existing spot Ethereum ETF.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decisions on an exchange-traded fund proposed by Donald Trump’s media and technology company to track the performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum and seven other ETFs based on single digital assets.

In a filing Monday, the regulator said that it moved its deadline back 45 days for weighing in on the Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF to October 8.

It announced identical delays for applications filed for spot XRP funds by Grayscale, CoinShares, Canary Capital, Bitwise and 21Shares, a spot Dogecoin ETF from Grayscale, and a spot Litecoin product from CoinShares, although the dates for potential approvals of those funds vary.

It also held up resolving a request to add staking to the the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, which tracks the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value.

The delays comes four days after the agency delayed decisions on Solana ETFs from Bitwise, 21Shares, and VanEck, and a Dogecoin fund from 21Shares.

The SEC is weighing a wave of proposals tracking cryptocurrencies. Those submissions have resulted from the dramatic success of 11 spot Bitcoin and nine Ethereum ETFs, a more favorable political environment for cryptocurrencies ushered in by the Trump administration, and growing interest by traditional finance giants who were formerly resistant to the asset.

The filings also follow roughly three weeks after two major U.S. exchanges asked the SEC to approve amendments that could significantly shorten the approval process for future crypto exchange-traded funds, automatically listing certain products without requiring case-by-case filings.

In separate filings, Cboe BZX and NYSE Arca requested changes to their listing standards that would allow certain crypto ETFs to be listed without enduring the SEC’s rigorous evaluation under Rule 19b-4, a process that requires exchanges to submit proposed rule changes. Under current guidelines, such reviews of proposed changes to funds could take 240 days.

Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas told Decrypt that the SEC’s filings Monday were “nothing significant,” and were likely timed to follow a probable SEC green light of Cboe and NYSE’s amendments next month following the conclusion of a comments period.

“Even though it feels like ‘Isn’t this SEC supposed to approve all this stuff?’, the listing standards are out for comment,” Balchunas said. “So just in the nick of time, these listing standards should be approved. And then we’re anticipating a batch of approvals based on the listing standard starting in October.”

“So this delay feels discouraging, but it’s just a little more patience,” he added. “It’ll all happen soon.”

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August 19, 2025 0 comments