Last Week in Global Markets: Apr 3-9, 2023

Hi, and happy Monday,

Following in the footsteps of Hong Kong, other Asian countries are taking steps to create a favorable environment for the cryptocurrency industry, as seen in Japan's publication of a Web3 white paper and Singapore's collaboration with banks to establish industry standards.

Meanwhile, tokenization is poised for significant growth and adoption as real-world asset tokenization is projected by Citi to reach $4-$5 trillion by 2030, with private equity and real estate tokenizations capturing significant market share.

This, and more from last week.

Let's dive in.

Good news for crypto and Web3 in Asia

Singapore's central bank and police authorities are reportedly working with banks to develop uniform standards for opening crypto accounts, with a separate industry report expected to outline best practices in areas like due diligence and risk management.

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CPIC Investment Management, a subsidiary of China Pacific Insurance, is reportedly launching two crypto funds in Hong Kong, which will target institutional and wealthy private investors, indicating the Chinese government's growing interest in the cryptocurrency industry.

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Japan's Web3 project team has published a whitepaper with recommendations for promoting a friendlier environment for the crypto industry, including changes to tax regulation, clarifying leadership in technology-neutral innovation, and setting up a DAO law.

Banks take action to adopt digital assets

In response to the growing demand from retail bank customers in Switzerland for access to digital assets, PostFinance, the country's fifth-largest financial services firm, has partnered with Sygnum Bank to offer its 2.5 million customers the ability to purchase, store, and sell Bitcoin and Ether.

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European banks SEB and Credit Agricole CIB have launched a new digital bond platform called "so | bond" built on blockchain technology with a "Proof of Climate awaReness" validation protocol to minimize its environmental footprint.

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BTG Pactual, a Brazilian investment bank, will launch its own stablecoin, BTG Dol, backed by the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio, allowing customers to "dollarize" their assets and connect traditional finance with the digital economy.

The future looks bright for tokenization

Citi is betting on the tokenization of real-world assets on the blockchain to become the next major use case in the cryptocurrency industry, with a projected market expansion of 80 times to reach $4-$5 trillion by 2030. Private equity and real estate tokenizations are expected to capture 10% and 7.5%, respectively, of their total addressable markets.

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Tokenized gold has surpassed a $1 billion market cap last week as the price of gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, has risen due to investor concerns about flailing banks and a possible government bailout.?

Crypto ETFs face slow adoption despite institutional interest

A Brown Brothers Harriman's survey on global ETF investment revealed that while nearly 75% of institutional investors have expressed strong interest in crypto ETFs, only 25% are expected to raise their investment in the next 12 months, which suggests a decline in the purchasing momentum.

UK crypto firms face banking woes

In the UK, banks are refusing to work with crypto companies, leading them to turn to payment providers to maintain operations. Meanwhile venture capital investment in digital asset firms has decreased 94% in the UK while other European countries have experienced a 31% increase.

Paxful suspends operations amid challenges

P2P bitcoin trading platform Paxful is suspending operations due to regulatory challenges in the US and staff departures, and is uncertain if it will resume. This comes after the platform stopped trading Ether in Dec 2022.

That's a wrap. See you next week.

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