DeFI News by Thebittimes.Com

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has entered the top 20 list of the biggest ETFs (exchange-traded funds) for the first time, with its assets reaching $90.7 billion. According to an X post by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, IBIT is now ranked below the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG US) with its $98 billion in assets, and above the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK US) with its assets standing at $90.6 billion. That’s after BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF recorded its biggest net daily inflows since Aug. 14. Analyst Says IBIT Could Enter Top 10 Around December 2026 Asked when or if IBIT could enter the top ten list, Balchunas said the milestone ”may not take long.” “It took in $40b last 12mo and went up 85%,” Balchunas wrote, estimating it could enter the top 10 around Christmas next year.  Someone asked me how long till Top 10. It is $50b away. If the last 12mo are repeated it may not take long. It took in...

Digital assets saw a new weekly record as inflows hit $2.9 billion last week. Bitcoin recorded inflows of $2.86 billion, while Ethereum, Solana and Polygong saw minor outflows. CoinShares shared the details in its Digital Asset Fund Flows report published on Monday, March 18. The crypto investment space saw a record $2.9 billion in inflows last week, digital assets manager CoinShares says. Per the report, the figure beat the previous week’s $2.7 billion, with this a seventh consecutive week that crypto investment products are seeing inflows. “ This week’s in flows have pushed year-to-date in flows to US$13.2bn, smashing the full 2021 in flows of US$10.6bn ,” CoinShare’s global head of research James Butterfill noted in the Digital Asset Fund Flows report published on Monday, March 18. Bitcoin saw inflows of $2.86 billion In a week where Bitcoin price shot to a new all-time high above $73k before flipping negative to test lo...

With the latest move, the U.K. hopes to bolster liquidity in its asset management market. British investment managers have received an approval to develop tokenized funds with the help of blockchain technology as the country seeks to benefit from the global digitization trend. As reported by Reuters, investment managers in the U.K. have been authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the financial services regulator, to start offering tokenized funds, albeit for mainstream assets only. Michelle Scrimgeour, who is the sitting chair of a working group tasked with aligning with the FCA on the matter, told the press that fund tokenization has “great potential to revolutionize how our industry operates, by enabling greater efficiency and liquidity, enhanced risk management and the creation of more bespoke portfolios.” You might also like: UK treasury secretary unveils new law to strengthen digital asset industry The move is expected to help the U.K. to...

Russia’s Finance Ministry official hopes that liquidity from the crypto market will help the local business to overcome sanctions pressure. Digital financial asset s (DFAs), a tokenized form of traditional financial instruments issued by Russian-only companies, appear to have failed to attract significant capital from local investors despite the Bank of Russia’s efforts to position these asset s as a better alternative to crypto . According to Russian finance ministry official Ivan Chebeskov, it is still too early to say that DFAs have raised many investments, even though the first issuance of DFAs was conducted in June 2022. As reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, the ministry is now betting on bringing investors from the crypto market, given this industry allocated enough liquidity to support Russia’s economy. “In our opinion, large investments in the digital financial asset s market will occur when we are able to combine what we call the cry...

It is understood that BlockFi wants to get bids in quickly as possible to make the most of the current market conditions. Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi has been granted court approval to sell off its crypto mining equipment as part of ongoing efforts to  repay its creditors. A court document filed on Jan. 30 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey stated that the approval for BlockFi to sell its assets was on the grounds that it was “fair, reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances.” The court acknowledged the sale of the assets is “designed” to maximize the recovery and “realizable value” of the company. With the court giving BlockFi the green light, more bids are now expected to roll in for the crypto lender's crypto mining assets. The document stated “all qualified bids” must be sent to the parties specified in the bidding procedures by the Feb. 20 deadline. The bids must be filed with the court by Mar. 2 and the creditor's representat...