The Daily: Morgan Stanley advisors pitching Bitcoin ETFs, Genesis begins distribution, crypto earnings and more
Quick Take
- Morgan Stanley to allow wealth advisors to pitch Bitcoin ETFs to some clients
- Bybit will end services and stop offering products in France
- Polymarket crosses $1 billion in cumulative volume, driven by U.S. political bets
- The following is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
It's Friday! In today's Daily, Morgan Stanley will soon allow its wealth advisors to pitch Bitcoin ETFs, Bybit bids adieu to France, we take a look at three crypto-related firms' Q2 financial results and more.
Meanwhile, Genesis completed its bankruptcy restructuring process and began distributing $4 billion in crypto and cash.
Let's get started.
Morgan Stanley's wealth advisors to pitch Bitcoin ETFs
Morgan Stanley will permit its wealth advisors to offer spot Bitcoin ETFs to select clients starting Aug. 7, CNBC reported, the first of its kind among major Wall Street banks.
- This initiative responds to increasing client demand for cryptocurrency-related products, according to sources familiar with internal policy decisions at the investment bank.
- Morgan Stanley will initially allow its financial advisors to solicit eligible clients to purchase shares of two spot Bitcoin ETFs: BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund.
- However, clients must have a net worth of at least $1.5 million, a high-risk tolerance and an interest in speculative investments.
- Investment in the bitcoin ETFs will also be limited to taxable brokerage accounts and not available for retirement accounts.
- The bank reportedly plans to monitor client crypto holdings closely to prevent excessive exposure to the asset class and is also observing the progress of spot Ethereum ETFs without committing to offering access.
Au revoir, Bybit
Crypto exchange Bybit is set to cease offering all its products and services in France.
- Starting Aug. 2 at 4 a.m. ET, French users will be unable to make crypto purchases, open new positions or add to existing ones on the platform. All Bybit services, including Bybit Earn and spot products, are included in the restriction.
- Any unclosed positions will automatically liquidated on Aug. 13 at 4 a.m. ET, after which only withdrawals will be allowed.
- Bybit's exit from France follows stricter licensing regulations imposed by the country in August 2023 in preparation for the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation framework that goes into full effect in December.
- It's not the first time Bybit has left a European country, exiting the UK market last September amid new crypto marketing rules.
Crypto firms release Q2 financial results
Crypto exchange Coinbase, business intelligence and Bitcoin development company MicroStrategy and mining firm MARA released their Q2 financial results on Thursday.
- Coinbase reported $1.45 billion in Q2 revenue, an 11% decrease from Q1, partially driven by falling consumer transactions amid corrections in the crypto market.
- MicroStrategy reported quarterly losses of $5.74 per share on sales of $111.4 million, a 7% year-over-year decrease. It also acquired 12,222 BTC for $805.2 million, taking its total bitcoin holdings to 226,500 BTC ($14.2 billion), and said it would file for a new $2 billion at-the-market equity offering program.
- MARA reported a net loss of $199.7 million in Q2, compared to $9 million in the same period last year. The miner produced 2,058 BTC during the quarter, marking a 30% decrease from the same period in 2023.
Polymarket crosses $1 billion in cumulative volume
Decentralized prediction platform Polymarket has surpassed $1 billion in cumulative trading volume since its launch, according to The Block's data dashboard.
- From June to the end of July, Polymarket's cumulative volume surged around 58%, from $663 million to $1.05 billion, with users buying and selling shares using the USDC stablecoin on Polygon to bet on the likelihood of future events taking place.
- The surge in trading volume is driven by increased interest in U.S. political events ahead of November's election, with July alone reaching a record of more than $380 million in volume.
- The platform's user base has also seen a large rise, with the number of monthly traders soaring to over 44,000 from approximately 4,000 in January.
- Polymarket's largest market, the bet on who will be the next U.S. president, has seen over $474 million in trading, comprising more than 45% of the platform's overall volume to date.
MakeNowMeme's X account briefly suspended, now back online
MakeNowMeme's X account was briefly suspended but is now back online with minting and replies resumed.
- The suspension halted the service that allowed users to launch their own Solana-based memecoins by posting specifically formatted tweets on the platform.
- Like memecoin launching platform Pump.fun, when enough users buy a new MakeNowMeme token, its liquidity is posted onto the decentralized exchange Raydium before getting burned.
In the week ahead
It's quiet on the economic calendar front.
U.S. FOMC members Mary Daly and Thomas Barkin are due to speak on Monday and Thursday, respectively.
Asia Blockchain Summit 2024 kicks off in Taipei City, Taiwan.
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