There’s been a flurry of major crypto news to end the week. Among the developments: Facebook expects to start testing its GlobalCoin cryptocurrency by year-end, before launching in 1Q20; Grayscale announced it’s received approval for the public quotation of eligible shares of its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE); and Coinbase unveiled full support for the heartbeat of the open finance movement: Dai (DAI).
The crypto markets are enjoying a considerable bounce over the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are trading at $7,904.7 and $250.3; a rise of 4.4% and 6.9%, respectively. As for the MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index, it is currently tracking at 3,843.3 (+2.2%).
GlobalCoin: Facebook to Begin Cryptocurrency Roll-Out by Year End
More details of Facebook’s cryptocurrency-based payments network have emerged, courtesy of the BBC, which reported the social media giant is striving to commence testing of its cryptocurrency – internally dubbed GlobalCoin – by the year’s end, before launching in “a dozen countries” by March 31, 2020.
Facebook expects to outline further details “this summer,” the BBC wrote, before highlighting that Bank of England governor Mark Carney was, in April, briefed by Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.
Officials from the U.S. Treasury have been approached by Facebook, also, with respect to potential “operational and regulatory issues.” Moreover, Facebook is reportedly “in talks with money transfer firms including Western Union as it looks for cheaper and faster ways for people without a bank account to send and receive money.”
Grayscale Ethereum Trust Gets Retail Greenlight
Grayscale Investments – a New York-based firm with almost $2 billion in assets under management – announced they secured approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to list eligible shares of its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE).
In the press statement, Grayscale pointed out that “there will be no trading volume in the Share’s public quotation” until the Depository Trust Company (DTC) permits it. Grayscale – which is a Digital Currency Group (DCG) subsidiary – added “ETHE is expected to receive [the DTC’s approval] soon.”
ETHE marks Grayscale’s third publicly quoted investment product. It follows Grayscale Bitcoin Trust™ (OTCQX:GBTC) and Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust™ (OTCQX:ETCG).
FINRA approving $ETHE for retail is an encouraging development for Ethereum.
1. Like futures, a closed-end fund is likely a necessary precursor to an ETF
2. It will be a great proxy for retail demand. $GBTC trades at a premium to NAV— $ETHE will likely do the same & pop on Day 1— Spencer Noon (@spencernoon) May 24, 2019
DeFi Delight: Coinbase Adds Full DAI Support
Coinbase announced Dai (DAI) is now available to buy and trade for Coinbase.com users. DAI is a stablecoin native to MakerDAO (MKR) that is designed to offer a value-stable asset that does not suffer from the generally high level of volatility seen across the cryptocurrency market.
The move surprised many pundits within the Ethereum and decentralized finance (DeFi) space, as Coinbase already co-manages USD Coin (USDC), a rival stablecoin developed by the CENTRE Consortium last year.
Coinbase, a leading U.S.-headquartered crypto exchange, already listed DAI last December. However, it was only made accessible on Coinbase Pro, a Coinbase-owned exchange targetted at institutional and professional traders.
